Faith Without Works
James 2:14-26 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
Just read what James wrote, nothing to add but I do have a few questions:
Is fear the opposite of faith? I would step out in faith but just in case, I’m holding back a little so I won’t come up empty handed.
Is selfishness the enemy of faith? I believe, but I don’t want to give up my. . . .
Does my pride impede my faith? What will my friends think if I leap out there and fall on my face?
Does faith make me vulnerable? What if I step out in faith, only to find that someone lied to me to watch me fall?
Can faith be painful? What if it doesn’t turn out the way I believed it would.
Here’s the one I’m working on:
Faith is not just being willing to step up and do what needs to be done. It also includes being willing to turn the results over to God. Here was my first lesson in that category:
Fall of 1976, I was running a vending route for Tom’s Toasted Peanuts. That week, I had earned nearly $200 so I was feeling highly blessed. Another young man at our church, hadn’t been there long, had decided to go to preaching school to learn to be an evangelist. I gave him $100 to help him make the trip.
The day he left for preaching school, I saw that he had a brand new set of mag wheels on his little Vega station wagon. They cost about $100! That day, I learned that a) I should be more diligent in my vetting and b) if I give in faith, I’m turning the outcome over to the Lord.
Father, strengthen our faith to reach out further, trusting You with the results.